Isolated
by Charlie Winchester
Summary: DonMegan. "Maybe the question is not how far you DID go, but how far you would have gone." Chapter three added. COMPLETE.
1. Alone

Numb3rs fanfic

One-sided Don/Megan

Please review.

**Isolated**

Author's Note- my take on the all too short conversation between Alan and Don. What if it had gone in a slightly different direction?

Disclaimer- I don't own anyone from Numb3rs, though Don and Colby would be nice to keep captive in my bedroom…

PS- Listen to Paul Brandt's 'I Do'. There's a line at the bottom.

-

Alan Eppes knows his son like no one else. He knows Don's deepest fears, his favourite foods, how he reacts to certain situations, what bugs him the most, the crimes he hates more than anything. He knows it all, even when it comes down to every single one of his facial expressions and what they mean.

But not this one.

He watches, attentive, as the older Eppes brother's face shuts down completely. His eyes become dark; his appearance shuttered. His jaw is set stiffly. Alan can see the walls go up around his son.

"Don…"

Don doesn't answer, doesn't blink, doesn't even move. Upon closer scrutiny, Alan spots the clear, undisguised hurt in his son's dark eyes. "Don."

Eventually Don lifts bleak eyes to meet his father's. He still refuses to speak.

"Maybe that was the wrong question." Alan holds Don's gaze steadily, firmly, not backing down. Compassion is etched into his face. "Maybe the question is not how far you _did _go, but how far you _would _have gone." Taking a deep breath, he plunges forward, risking everything he's thinking. "Maybe you don't want to answer me because it scares you. It scares you because you don't know how far you would have gone, and that's new territory."

"I killed her, Dad, the woman that kidnapped her. I killed someone to save Megan's life, and I would do it again." Don's voice is surprisingly secure, balanced, but hard and cold. "I would. I would do _anything _to save her life. Without a doubt." His eyes flicker with another emotion Alan can't identify. "Yeah, Dad, you're right. It scares me. Actually, to be honest, it scares the _hell _out of me. So what am I supposed to do?" He scoffs bitterly, shoving himself up on the couch with muscled arms.

"You tell me." Alan's heart aches for his son. "What do you think you should do?"

Don silently scowls at nothing in particular. "Dad, she's with Larry. That's a definite hint for me to find another damsel in distress and redirect my attention."

"You're so sure of that?" Alan probes gently, and Don rises, stalks to the kitchen, opens and closes the fridge door with a slam, and comes back with two beers, one already half gone. Not a good sign. Don plunks down on the couch, finishes the last of his beer, and fiddles with the second one, not yet open.

"I don't know," he finally mumbles, and tosses the second beer to Alan, then uses the palms of his hands to rub his tired eyes. "I don't know, I don't know… I don't know. Damn it." After a long pause, he lets his body fall back, his head rest on the back of the couch. "I couldn't help it. I let it slip. I let it slip. How could I?"

Alan is silent for a moment, waiting.

"Sweetie. What the hell is my problem, Dad?" Don's head snaps up, his eyes wide open again, outright fire in them now. Sick of being lazy, he stands, paces back and forth anxiously, angrily, and everything in between. He drags a hand down his face, exhausted emotionally, mentally, physically. His tone is anguished. "And what am I going to do?"

-

She was supposed to be asleep. She was so tired she could barely keep her eyes open. They were finally drifting closed, lulling her to dreamland, when a tiny, nearly undetectable detail sprang to the front of her mind and suddenly wouldn't leave her alone.

Megan squeezed her eyes shut, allowed them to open again, and with a sigh, sat up. "Alright, what is it?" She asked aloud, hoping whatever it was would answer her.

No such luck.

She waited impatiently, getting irritated.

"All I want to do is sleep."

Unwanted tears flood her eyes. She brushes them away with the back of her hand, sniffling. She didn't cry before, and she wasn't going to cry now.

But she's so tired and so confused and just so _not right_ that she can't hold it in, and she succumbs to the pressure and cries for an hour into her pillow, soaking the silky white material with her salty tears.

She's well on her way to crying herself to sleep, an almost ghost of a smile on her lips as she vividly recalls her co-workers doting on her in the hospital.

Something…

There it was. The nudge again. Megan draws in a shaky breath and forces herself to relax, but her arm is throbbing and her head is starting to and she feels sick, and her heart aches for something she can't define.

Her eyes flutter closed, and abruptly it hits her, and she doesn't know if it woke her up. It's like a nightmare.

He called her "sweetie."

-

_**Baby I will, I am, I can, I have, I do…**_

-


	2. Restless

- chapter two: restless-

**Can I be sure I have been waiting for you?**

**And did I say my love is true?**

**Baby I will, I am, I can, I have, I do...**

Megan Reeves is ready to throw something, so, when the first thing her eyes land on after flicking around the room is a pen, she succumbs to the pressure. In a rare display of frustration, she hurls it across the room. After only a split second, it hits the opposite wall with a resounding thunk.

_Damn it. _

Right before her eyes, her closest friend is changing, and she can't do a thing to stop it.

He's the only thing that's completely steady in her life. He's her rock, her life raft, her protector. She knows he'll always be there for her, and she knows she can depend on him for anything, but suddenly it hits her that something is different, something isn't right, and right now she just wants to cry.

"My original plan was to pay you a surprise visit and inquire as to what your plans were for dinner," comes a hesitant voice from a few feet away, "however, I've come to the conclusion that perhaps that might not be what you need to be hearing at this exact moment... am I partially correct?"

Despite herself, a small smile pulls at the corners of her lips, rearranging her frown.

"Hi, Larry. I'm sorry, it hasn't been a great day." She spins in her office chair and greets him with a slightly forced expression.

"Not a problem," he says, smiling at her. "I understand how those days are. I'll leave you to your work, then."

She nods absently as he leaves, guilt creeping into her. _This is stupid. Larry is one of the best things that's ever happened to me, and here I am agonizing over **Don.**_ _Get a hold of yourself, Reeves. He should not even matter to you._

But he does, and her stomach flips over, and her eyes squeeze shut and she scowls fiercely at nothing in particular.

Sweetie, sweetie, sweetie, sweetie.

_Damn it **more. **_

"Colby, when do we get the test back from... Oh. Where'd Colby go?" Don asks without looking at her.

"I don't know. He said something about something," she shrugs, "I don't know. I wasn't really listening."

Her eyes nearly pop out of her head when she spots the faintest tinge of red in his cheeks.

"'Kay thanks," he mumbles under his breath and turns right around, heading for the door, and nearly trips over a chair on the way out.

He was one of the most graceful men she knew.

He also **never **blushed. Never ever.

Her heart skips again.

If that wasn't glaringly obvious, she didn't know what was.

Don Eppes was in love with her.

-

**A/N- Again, lyrics belong to Paul Brandt. Sorry the chapter is short, but I wanted to add a follow-up in case you guys wanted more. If you like it, please review and tell me if you'd like me to continue this fic. If not, I'll just delete this chapter and leave it as a one-shot. Thanks!**


	3. Try

**Author's Note: Thank you so much for all your wonderful reviews! So, without further ado, the final chapter of this story... review please!**

- try-

She can see it in his eyes now, as well.

It used to just be the glances, the light touches, the smiles… but as they get more and more frequent, his already dark eyes get darker and more guarded, and she feels like it's her fault.

_I don't want to get hurt_ is the only thing that's keeping her from yelling "I love you" to the world and screw rules and regulations, she loves him too, but she just can't bear to admit it and lose him.

_**Like the sound of silence calling**_

_**I hear your voice and suddenly I'm falling**_

_**Lost in a dream**_

_**Like the echoes of our souls are meeting**_

_**You say those words, my heart stops beating**_

_**I wonder what it means**_

_**What could it be that comes over me**_

_**At times I can't move**_

_**At time I can't hardly breathe**_

She sits on her couch with jazz music playing and a Jack Daniels in her right hand, staring at a photo of the two of them after a team baseball game. His arm is wrapped around her shoulder and they're grinning wildly for the camera in their baseball caps and gloves after a close game.

She remembers how right it felt, the feeling of being wrapped in his arms and being swung around in the circle.

"_C'mon, Meg, you can do it!" Don yells at her from second base, cupping his hands around his mouth to carry his voice so she can hear him. _

_Megan tightens her grip on the bat, gives it a few test swings, and takes a step up to the plate. He has faith in her, and for now, that's just enough. He nods confidently at her from second base, and she takes a deep breath and glares straight at the pitcher, throwing him off guard. _

_**When you say you love me**_

**_The world goes still, so still inside and _**

_**When you say you love me**_

_**For a moment, there's no one else alive**_

The ball is slow and easy, and she smacks it as hard as she can, hitting it over the fence and beyond. She's already moving, kicking up dust under her heels as her legs pump faster and faster.

_Wind whistles high-pitched in her ears while she runs like she's never run before, and when she reaches home base he's waiting for her, arms wide open and waiting, and she flies right into them with a grin, laughing. He swings her in a circle, and another, and another, and finally lets her drift to the ground with a whoop. His hands don't immediately leave her waist, yanking her to reality, a reality that's new and suddenly scary to her. _

"_I knew you could do it," he whispers, hands lightly resting on her hips, and she swears his lips are coming closer and closer…_

_**You're the one I've always thought of **_

_**I don't know how but I feel sheltered in your love**_

_**You're where I belong**_

_**And when you're with me if I close my eyes**_

_**There are times I swear I feel like I can fly**_

_**For a moment in time**_

_**Somewhere between**_

_**The heavens and earth**_

_**I'm frozen in time**_

_**Oh when you say those words**_

_And then they're interrupted by the entire team, cheering and giving her hi-fives and wide grins. _

_He gives her a look through the cloud that she can read well. 'We'll finish this later,' she reads in his eyes, but later never comes._

_**When you say you love me**_

**_The world goes still, so still inside and _**

_**When you say you love me**_

_**For a moment, there's no one else alive**_

She hears a sudden knock on her door and jerks back to reality, but when she sees him in the peephole through her apartment door, she's not sure she's really still on earth.

"How did you get in?" Is the first thing she asks when she opens the door, and he gives her a lopsided grin.

"Bribery," he sheepishly admits.

And then she knows she did the right thing by breaking up with Larry.

Feeling unusually brave, she stares right into his dark, penetrating eyes, and takes a deep breath. "Don…"

He lets his hand graze the side of her face. "You just walked right in," he says softly. "I didn't even have a chance, Megan. You came, stole my heart, and ran away with it before I could blink."

"I know," she whispers, just as soft, and he smiles a hint of a smile.

"Mmm."

"Am I supposed to apologize?" she asks, but his eyes catch sight of the picture on her couch and he kisses her urgently, fingers weaving through her hair.

"Nuh-uh," he mutters after drawing back, "but I might have to call your boyfriend and say sorry for what I just did."

She smiles at him. "I don't have a boyfriend, at least, not right now."

"Is that so?" His eyes dance.

"Mhmm," she hums. "Good for you for trying, though."

He pulls her into a hug. "You gonna try with me?" And she sighs contentedly.

"As long as you want."

_**And this journey that we're on**_

_**How far we've come and I **_

_**Celebrate every moment**_

_**When you say you love me**_

_**That's all you have to say**_

_**I'll always feel this way**_

_**When you say you love me**_

_**The world goes still, so still inside and **_

_**When you say you love me**_

_**For a moment, there's no one else alive**_

_**When you say you love me**_

_**Do you know how I love you**_

**-**

**Disclaimer: The lyrics are from Josh Groban's "When You Say You Love Me".**


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